Matthew 12

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

12At that time ^wJesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and ^xthey began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. ²But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ^y“Look, your disciples are doing ^zwhat is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” ³He said to them, ^a“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: ⁴how he entered the house of God and ate ^bthe bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? ⁵Or have you not read ^cin the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? ⁶I tell you, ^dsomething greater than the temple is here. ⁷And if you had known ^ewhat this means, ^f‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸For ^gthe Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

⁹He went on from there and ^hentered their synagogue. ¹⁰And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, ⁱ“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—^jso that they might accuse him. ¹¹He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, ^kif it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? ^12lOf how much more value is a man than a sheep! So ^mit is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” ¹³Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And ⁿthe man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. ¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

God’s Chosen Servant

¹⁵Jesus, aware of this, ^owithdrew from there. And ^pmany followed him, and he healed them all ¹⁶and ^qordered them not to make him known. ^17rThis was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

^18s“Behold, my ^tservant whom I have chosen,

my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.

^uI will put my Spirit upon him,

and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

¹⁹He will not quarrel or cry aloud,

nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;

²⁰a bruised reed he will not break,

and a smoldering wick he will not quench,

until he brings justice to victory;

^21vand in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

^22wThen a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. ^23xAnd all the people were amazed, and said, ^x“Can this be the Son of David?” ²⁴But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ^y“It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” ^25zKnowing their thoughts, ^ahe said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, ^bby whom do ^cyour sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸But if it is ^dby the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then ^ethe kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹Or ^fhow can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed ^ghe may plunder his house. ^30hWhoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ³¹ⁱTherefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but ^jthe blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. ³²And whoever speaks a word ^kagainst the Son of Man ^lwill be forgiven, but ^jwhoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in ^mthis age or in the age to come.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

³³ⁿ“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, ^ofor the tree is known by its fruit. ^34pYou brood of vipers! How can you speak good, ^qwhen you are evil? ^rFor out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ^35rThe good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. ³⁶I tell you, ^son the day of judgment ^tpeople will give account for ^uevery careless word they speak, ³⁷for ^vby your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Sign of Jonah

³⁸Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, ^wwe wish to see a sign from you.” ³⁹But he answered them, ^x“An evil and ^yadulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰For ^zjust as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, ^aso will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ^41bThe men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^ccondemn it, for ^dthey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^esomething greater than Jonah is here. ^42fThe queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, ^esomething greater than Solomon is here.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

⁴³“When ^gthe unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through ^hwaterless places seeking rest, but finds none. ⁴⁴Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and ⁱthe last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this ^jevil generation.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

⁴⁶While he was still speaking to the people, behold, ^khis mother and his ^lbrothers¹ stood outside, asking to speak to him.^{2 48}But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰For ^mwhoever ⁿdoes the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”